One short stretch of road vs. a three-line bus system to connect Wiregrass Tech, Five Points, Downtown,
Moody, East Side, South Side, West Side, and the Mall.

Road and bridge proponents usually mutter that a bus system won’t pay back
for years, if ever.
And that’s right: bus systems usually operate at a loss because local
governments subsidize them for the social and economic benefits they bring,
such as these:

This project will provide mobility options for all travelers; improve
access to employment; and help mitigate congestion and maximize the use
of existing infrastructure by promoting high-occupancy travel.

Employment, safety, and less sprawl, all from a bus system.

What road and bridge proponents don’t ever mention is:
how long
will it take before that $12 million to widen Old US 41 North from
2 to five lanes pays back?
The answer: decades, if ever.
Because that road widening
is to subsidize

the future plans for further development in this area both commercially
and residentially

The county has already been subsidizing that sprawl:

Over the past 15 years with the installation of Lowndes County Water
and Sewer in this area, nine residential subdivisions, a private K-12
school, and numerous commercial developments have developed throughout
this corridor.

And it’s not clear that sprawl like that will ever pay back enough
in taxes from those businesses and new residents to pay back what
taxpayers now would pay to widen that road.

Oh, and the price tag for that road widening went up 50% from June to August.
It was already higher than the price tag for the bus system before
the road cost went up by 50%.
Who are the real beneficiaries for that?